POSCO Engineering to help modernize NLMK's Lipetsk site
MOSCOW. April 24 (Interfax) - NLMK Group, Russia's leading manufacturer of steel and HVA steel products, and South Korea's POSCO Engineering & Construction have singed a general agreement on strategic cooperation to jointly implement investment projects to modernize blast furnace, steelmaking and rolling operation at NLMK's Lipetsk production site, NLMK said in a press release.
Projects implemented as part of the agreement are aimed at boosting the efficiency of technological processes, including hot-end operations; and controlling the quality of products at NLMK's main production site; implementing best practices and advanced technologies, for instance, for pre-painted steel production; and mastering new types of HVA products, NLMK said.
The general agreement was signed by Sergei Filatov, NLMK Managing Director, and Deuk Hee Lee, Senior Vice-President of POSCO Engineering & Construction. Under the agreement, NLMK and the South Korean company will cooperate in the field of equipment and technology supplies, planning and implementation of investment projects, automation and project management.
"NLMK Group is continuing to successfully implement its strategic programme aimed at modernization and boosting the operational efficiency of production as part of Strategy 2017. Cooperation with a South Korean partner is the next step in strengthening NLMK's leadership positions in the sector, and in ensuring the sustainable development of the Group, as well as the diversification of equipment and technology suppliers in the long term," NLMK Managing Director Sergei Filatov said.
POSCO Engineering & Construction and Lipetsky Gipromez, a design institute that is part of NLMK Group, have agreed on a long-term partnership and are currently discussing the specific forms and programmes of cooperation in providing high quality design services on the Russian market.
NLMK Group is a vertically integrated steel company and Russia's leading steel maker and manufacturer of rolled products with high added value. NLMK's high-quality metal products are used in various industries, from construction and engineering to the manufacture of power-generating equipment and offshore wind turbines.
NLMK's production assets are located in Russia, Europe, and the United States. The company's liquid steel production capacity is over 17 million tonnes per year, of which about 16 million tonnes are produced in Russia.
The company generated $ 10.9 billion in revenue, and EBITDA of $1.5 billion in 2013.